Combined telephone receiver and transmitter



I. s. TIMMONS.

COMBINED TELEPHONE RECEIVER AND'TRANSMITTER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 31.1919.

Patented Sept. 12, 192.

A TTOR/VEYS Patented sept. 12,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN s. rmntons, or Yonxms, new YORK.

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. Application filed July 31, 1919. Serial No..314,411.

' hand piece and in positionto press upon the throat at one side of the larynx when the receiver is held to the ear, whereby the trans-- mitter as a whole may be subjected to the muscular vibrations of the throat during articulate. speech, as distinguished from having its diaphragm :put into vibration by air pulsations as in the usual practice.

My invention more particularly relates to the employment of that class of transmitter, which is operated wholly by muscular action directly upon-the casing, the diaphragm whereof is completely shielded by being enclosed within the case and out of direct influence of the sound vibrations of the atmosphere, and the present invention is directed to providing'a suitable hand piece carrying a receiver and a transmitter of the above type in such relation that when the receiver is app-lied to the ear the transmitter may be in'.contact with the throat or other part of the head where muscular vibrations induced by articulate speech are produced; and in the perfected form of this invention,

- the transmitter and receiver are so held upon the hand piece that they may have a relative movement so as to mutually adjust themselves to the head of the o erator, the said adjustment beinprefera ly accomplished by attaching t e receiver fixedly to the hand piece and having the transmitter flexibly connected thereto.

My invention also consists of improvements hereinafter described whereby the above objects and results are attained, said improvements comprising "certain organization and combination of parts which are fully described hereinafter and more particularly defined in the claims.

For the purpose of illustrating my inven tion, I have shown in the accompanying drawings the embodiment thereof which is at present preferred by me, since the'same is upon the hand piece 2 andwith its contact- 110 inform to give satisfactory and reliable results, but it 1s to be understood that the several. instrumentalities of which my invention.

consists can be variously arranged and or ganized an that my invention is'not limited to the preclse arrangement and or anization of the instrumentalities herein s own and described.

- Referring to the drawings: Fig. 1 is a 7 side elevation (with a portion'broken away) of a combined transmitter and receiver connected by a suitable hand piece, embodying my invention; Fi 2 and 3 are sectional v ews of forms'o transmitters suitable to my invention; and Fig. 4 1s a perspective -v1ew illustrating the use of my invention.

' 2 is a, hand piece and may be made. of

hard rubber, metal or any suitable substance and comprises a hollow handle part adapted to be grasped by thel' hand, shaped at one end in an enlarged receiver case 3 (contain ing the receiver proper) and at the other end in a on shaped part 5 open at one side as indicated transmitter 6. The general planes of the ear piece of the receiver and of the transmitter opening 5 are at angles to each other, approximately 130 degrees, when the transmitter is to press upon the side of the throat Fig. 4). These planes are indicated in ig.'1, by dotted lines w-w for receiver and yy for the transmitter, but it is to be understood that any change in the position of the receiver when in use, will cause the planes to assume diflerent angles.

at 5 and partly enclosing the The receiver itself may be of any suitable fined to the specific details illustrated. The

transmitter 6 loosely fits in the, cup shaped part5 of the hand piece2 and is supported yieldingly upon a coil spring 8' and heldin position by a link connection 7. In this manner the transmitter is flexibly. sustained ing surface 9 projecting somewhat above the rim of the cup shaped part 5, as is clearly shown in Fig. 1.

The transmitter shouldbe kept out of contact with the surrounding walls of'the part 5 and to more fully insure this, the rim of the cup shaped part 5 maybe provided with a rubber, diaphragm 5 of annular form whose inner annular edge may extend inwardly and in contact with the circular wall of thetransmitter. This rubber part 5* not only centralizes and insulates the transmitter withrespect to the side walls of the cup shaped part 5, but also acts to keep dust and dirtout of the hollow hand piece 2. The electric wires 10 from the transmitter extend, through the hollow hand piece and, in association with the wires from the receiver, are continued from the hand piece in an insulated electric cable 12 for communication with the telephone circuits. 1

In using an instrument of this character, the receiver is pressed to the ear and at the same time the surface 9 of the transmitter 6 is pressed against the throat, as illustrated in Fig. 4E. The muscular vibrations of the throat, induced when talking, produce corresponding vibrations in the transmitter as a whole upon the hand piece and this operates the microphone within the transmitter in the manner now to be described.

Referrin to Fig. 2, the transmitter comprises a. so id case or body 6* having the oblique contacting surface 9 and a removable solid back or cover '16. Within the case or bod is a microphone 13 having two electro es 13 secured to a metal box 15 and 13 secured. to the diaphragm 14 whose perimeter is secured to the open end of the said box 15. The usual carbon granules 13 are employed between the electrodes and within an insulating bushing 13. The center of the diaphragm 14 is connected by. a stem with the back or cover 16. If desired, a cotton or felt bushing 17 may be interposed between the interior walls of the case 6 and the box 15 of the microphone to support the same and prevent distortion of the diaphragm. The operation of this transmitter isas follows: When the case 6 is bodilyvi- .brated by the muscular action of the throat in talking, it also vibrates the box t5 of the microphone, but as this part and its contained electrode and carbon granules, has an appreciable weight, they ofier resistance to being vibratedby reason of the inertiadue to saidweight. While the microphone box 15 follows the vibrations of the case 6, its action is retarded, so that its vibrations are out of phase or lag back of the vibrations of the case and produce thereby resistance variations in the microphone causing it to transmit undulatory electric impulses, which operate the distant receivers with perfect ing this operation, the microphone and diaphra are completely shielded from the direct influence of air vibrations and consequently the diaphragm is not sensitive to noises, such as of machinery or artillery for example, which may be present at the time conversation is being had over the telephone system. Instruments of this class are, therefore, specially useful in battle ships, aeroplanes, artillery posts, and mills where heavy and noisy machinery,'is in active operation. They; are also suitable for submarines and for divers use.

Referring to the construction illustrated in Fig. 3, the general principle embodied in the transmitter is the. same as that in Fig. 2, but in this case the electrode 13 is fastened to the case 6 as is also the perimeter of the diaphragm 14, but in this in stance the diaphragm has no central connection with the case or its back, itscenter being freeto vibrate and carriesthe electrode 13* and a weight 15. In the operation of this transmitter, the vibration of the case 6 also vibrates the weighted part 15 of the diaphragm, but the inertia of this weight causes the vibrations of the electrode 13 to be out of phase with or having. lag behind the vibrations of the. case and other electrode 13*, with the result that the microphone produces resistance variations in accordance with the articulate speech which induces the muscular vibrations by which the transmitter is put into vibration.

It may be, pointed out that in these constructions, the dia hragms are to be considered only a flexi le support between the two electrodes and need not be continuous of surface. That they are made as disks is because it is more convenient to make them of such form and because their action is perhaps more balanced and less influenced by any rate of vibration due to their shape.

A telephone handset of the construction herein set out isconvenientfor quick intermitt/ant I use, as distinguished from uses when the instruments are carried in a head 1slet gli aving a hood or harness to fit" over the It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful construction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable, and while'I have in the presentinstanc'e shown and described the preferred embodiment, thereof which has been found in practice to. give satisfactory and reliable results, 'it is to be understood that I do not restrict myself to the details,

as the same are susceptible ofinodification in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Having now describedmy invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Lettors Patent, is:

reproduction of the articulate speech. Dur- 1. A telephone-hand set comprising ahan- 130 dle of rigid form having at one end a receiver adapted to be pressed to the ear of the operator and having the other end recessed, combined with a. transmitter arranged in the recessed end of the. handle and mpvable therein and also having its operative portion for contact with the operator extending outsideof and beyond the bounding walls of the recess, and spring devices for yieldingly holding the transm tter in position to ,nor- .mally assume a normal position but with 'freedom to oscillate laterally in all directions relatively to the handle when subjected to influencing a pressure, whereby it may shift its position under the pressure exerted by the handle when being adapted to the contacin part of the operators person.

2. telephone hand set comprising a handle having at one end a receiver adapted to be pressed to theear of the operator and having at the other end. a transmitter connected to the handle in a yielding manner, the yielding connection between the handle and transmitter formed of a sprlng, which permits universal movement of the transmitter relatively to the handle.

3. A telephone hand set comprising a handle havin at one end'a' receiver adapted to be pressed to the ear ofthe operator and having at the other end a transmitter connected to the handle in a yielding manner, the yielding connection between the handle and transmitter formed of a spring for pressing the transmitter outwardly from the handle and a flexible nonelastic means for limiting the action of the spring. 7 V

4. A telephone hand set comprising a handle having at one end a receiver adapted to be pressed to the ear of the operator and havin at the other end a transmitter connected to the handle in a yielding manner, the handle formed with cup-shaped end in which the transmitter is largely received and the yielding connection including a spring beneath the transmitter and within the cup shaped part of the handle.

5. A telephone hand set comprising a handle having at one end a receiver adapted to be pressed to the ear of the operator and having at the other end a transmitter connected to the handle in a yielding manner, in' which the handle has a cup shaped part into which the receiver extends and by which it is partly enclosed, the open end of the cup shaped part being provided with an annular rubber diaphragm through which the transmitter extends.

6. A telephone hand set comprising a handle having at one end a receiver adapted to be pressed to the ear of the operator and havin at the other end a transmitter connecte to the handle in a yielding manner, further characterized by having the plane of the receiver and the plane of the contacting surface of the transmitter permanently arranged at an angle considerably greater than a right angle and approximating 130 degrees. a

7. A telephone hand set comprising a handle having at one end a receiver adapted to be pressed to the ear of the operator and having at the other end a transmitter connected to the handle in a yielding manner, in which the transmitter has its microphone completely enclosed and shielded from air vibrations by a solid case.

8. A telephone hand set comprising a handle having at one end a receiver adapted to be pressed to the ear of the operator and having at the other end a transmitter connected to the handle in a yielding manner, in which the transmitter has a microphone completely enclosed so as to be fully protected from air vibrations created by the voice'and external causes and in which one electrode is connected directly to the case and the other electrode is weighted and flexibly connected with the case.

9. A telephone hand set comprising a handle of rigid form having at one end a receiver and at the other end a transmitter consisting of a microphone and an enclosing solid ease to completely shield the said Inicrophone from all air vibrations from the voice or other causes external of the case, one

of the electrodes of the microphone directly connected with the case and the other electrodeflexibly connected so as to be vibratable relatively thereto and to the first mentioned electrode.

10. A telephone hand set comprising a handle of rigid form having at one end a receiver fixedly secured thereto and at the other end a transmitter yieldingly connected thereto and consisting of a microphone and an enclosing solid case to completely shield the said microphone from all air vibrations from the voice or other causes external of the case, one of the electrodes of the microphone directly connected with the case and the other electrode flexibly connected so as to be vibratable relatively thereto and to the first mentioned electrode.

11. A telephone transmitter comprising a microphone, an enclosing case therefor hav- I ing a fiat surface adapted to be pressed against the throat of the operator, one of the .electrodes rigidly connected with the case and the other of the electrodes flexibly connected with the case through a diaphragm,

and means for yieldingly holding said transmitter to the throat of the operator. 4

In testimony of which invention, I hereunto set my hand.

JOHN s. TiMMONS. 

